PIA Press Release2005/08/29

Business excellence award recognizes exceptional SMEs

Tacloban City (29 August) -- The excellent performance of a business entity that belongs to the small and medium scale category which comprise about 99.6 % of the country's industry and provides 69.9 % employment to the country's totaql workforce, will be given due recognition through the Business Excellence Award for SMEs.

The award is the highest recognition given to Filipino SMEs for business excellence and leadership. It is one in a series of steps that will bring into focus small and medium entrepreneurship in the country.

Now on its second year, the Business Excellence Award was first launched last year by the Philippine Small and Medium Business Development Foundation (PHILSMED) under the leadership of Ms. Mina Gabor. This award is envisioned to be the equivalent of many prominent national excellence awards that are currently being given such as those for cooperatives (The Gawad Pitak Award), marketing (The Agora Award), exports (The Golden Shell Award), and tourism (Kalakbay Award).

PHILSMED's vision is to elevate the role of SMEs in national development particularly by increasing its contribution towards the country's gross domestic product. It hopes to identify existing business champions in their respective areas and highlight their strengths and strategies which other SMEs can bench mark on.

The Award will promote countryside development among SMEs by creating healthy business competition. It will also help local government units identify their niche by highlighting their local products, service or skills which are distinct from other areas.

The major considerations in selecting the winners are: overall business efficiency, the impact they create in the economy and their contribution to the business landscape of either a particular area or the country as a whole.

In order to qualify, the company, institution, cooperative or other forms of business setup should be at least majority owned by Filipinos. It must fall under the small and medium scale category duly registered with the SEC or DTI or CDA selling products or providing services and skills.

The company must have successfully operated for at least 5 consecutive years and must have been practicing good sound labor management practices, with good financial standing and have contributed to the upliftment of the economic landscape of the country.